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-   -   0V Grade?? (https://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29751)

Greg Endeman 03-23-2020 05:19 PM

0V Grade??
 
3 Attachment(s)
Hi, New to the forum. Looking at Grandpas gun and it looks like it says 0V as the grade. Is that the same as 0 VH? Is the HTA the gun assembler?
Thanks, Greg

Pete Lester 03-23-2020 06:16 PM

The OV is the grade stamp for a Trojan. If my recall is correct nobody really knows for sure what the HTA stamp is for. Some speculate high tensile alloy or heat treated and annealed.

Greg Endeman 03-23-2020 06:23 PM

Thank you! It does say Trojan Steel on barrel.

Dean Romig 03-23-2020 06:59 PM

And nobody knows what the O and the V mean either. Yes it is the stamp for the Trojan and those letters individually mean something... but what...? :confused:

And on the barrel flat it is stamped where we normally see the barrel steel mark, e.g. B = Bernard Steel, T = Titanic Steel, A = Acme Steel, D = Damascus Steel, DD = Finest Damascus Steel and so on...

Ordnance Variety....?... likely not, but it re*resents something....

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Pete Lester 03-23-2020 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Endeman (Post 297313)
Thank you! It does say Trojan Steel on barrel.

Trojans don't get people very excited unless their condition is very high. They are however extremely well built and fine shooting shotguns. Yours has a major plus for you being a family gun which I would consider priceless. I hope you are able to shoot and enjoy it for many years.

Bill Murphy 03-24-2020 08:52 AM

Your gun may be early enough to have an order book entry, which would mean that the original buyer would be identified. A PGCA letter will have that information if it is available.

Greg Endeman 03-24-2020 01:26 PM

Thanks Guys, The letter would be cool if available. I'll check. Would you really shoot a 103 year old gun much? I'm gettin old and I don't have anyone in Fam that wants it. Was thinking of selling possibly. We'll see.

Milton C Starr 03-24-2020 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Endeman (Post 297370)
Thanks Guys, The letter would be cool if available. I'll check. Would you really shoot a 103 year old gun much? I'm gettin old and I don't have anyone in Fam that wants it. Was thinking of selling possibly. We'll see.

Theres guys here shooting guns older than that .
If its safe to shoot that is .

Daniel Carter 03-24-2020 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Endeman (Post 297370)
Thanks Guys, The letter would be cool if available. I'll check. Would you really shoot a 103 year old gun much? I'm gettin old and I don't have anyone in Fam that wants it. Was thinking of selling possibly. We'll see.

Most of us here do the majority of our shooting with guns of that age or older. They were the best when they were made and still are. You will note that they do not have a use by date on them.

Greg Endeman 03-24-2020 01:49 PM

Good to know. The gun is in pretty good shape but probably hasn't been shot since the late 60's or early 70's when my Dad used it for dove hunting. Been in the closet ever since. I think I'll get it cleaned up and give it a try!

John Dallas 03-24-2020 03:02 PM

There may be posters on this site who are older than your gun

Dean Romig 03-24-2020 05:29 PM

Your Trojan appears by the pics you provided, to be in very nice and clean condition.

How about showing more pictures of your Parker?





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Greg Endeman 03-24-2020 06:27 PM

OK, will do when I get home.

Greg Endeman 03-24-2020 10:27 PM

6 Attachment(s)
Pictures of the Parker

Patrick Butler 03-24-2020 11:03 PM

The most important thing about this side by side, besides that it is a Parker, is that it is a family firearm. They do not make any more of those.

Find someone in your family that deserves it. Ask.

If you do not shoot, take it out to a local range and use some low loads (not hunting) and get to know this shotgun. Just ask the locals, most respect any Parker. If they do not, ask another person at the range.

Make this sxs the last thing you sell.

Patrick Butler

Mark Britton 03-24-2020 11:06 PM

Money wise it's not worth alot , as a family piece PRICELESS don't sell it ! JMOP

Russell E. Cleary 03-25-2020 07:04 AM

I actually like the lines of a Trojan. I see them as having stand-alone eye-appeal in the Parker line, with their Spartan-ascetic departure from 19th Century Victorian design, which by 1912 was an honest reflection of the times and consistent with what one could expect would be a Parker interpretation of affordability, simplicity and spare elegance.

All that, and after having been driven by a pitiless industrial cost-savings motive. All of American manufacturing should be so lucky.

Dean Romig 03-25-2020 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Butler (Post 297423)
Find someone in your family that deserves it, (and who will Respect it for what it represents as a family heirloom)... Ask.


My thoughts in parentheses.

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Dean Romig 03-25-2020 08:06 AM

An observation... You need to get after that rust freckling on the barrels and frame... it Will get worse if not addressed.

Do NOT use a harsh abrasive. Instead, order online from Big45 their “Frontier Pad” which looks like a very abrasive pot scrubbing pad but Frontier Pad when used with Hoppe’s or a gun oil it will Not harm the blueing or case color but will definitely take care of the rust. But don’t use it on the wood!

The Trojan 12 gauge is a very stout gun. As long as the barrels (bores) are in good shape it will likely be good to go for shooting but Don’t use magnum loads!



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Greg Endeman 03-25-2020 09:55 AM

Thank you all for the information and advice. I have been looking at this gun in the closet since I was about 10 and knew very little about it since about a week ago. It is great to hear how respected these Parkers are and that folks are still shooting them even over 100 years old. I have decided I will NOT sell it! I am excited to get the Frontier Pad and oil I had read about on the forum and that Mr. Romig also suggested here. I'll get it cleaned up and try it out. Thank you!

Pete Lester 03-25-2020 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Endeman (Post 297457)
Thank you all for the information and advice. I have been looking at this gun in the closet since I was about 10 and knew very little about it since about a week ago. It is great to hear how respected these Parkers are and that folks are still shooting them even over 100 years old. I have decided I will NOT sell it! I am excited to get the Frontier Pad and oil I had read about on the forum and that Mr. Romig also suggested here. I'll get it cleaned up and try it out. Thank you!

From what I can see in the pictures you have a very nice gun with honest wear and tear. I doubt it left the factory with that recoil pad but it looks to be a Hawkins pad and that is period correct for that gun. You might consider joining the PGCA and getting a factory letter for it. You also may find you start reading these forums more often and before you know it you own another Parker, we have seen it happen before.

Greg Endeman 03-25-2020 03:31 PM

I figured the recoil pad was not factory. No idea where the original is. It's what's been on it for some time. I think I will join PGCA and get a letter. Thanks Mr. Books!

Greg Endeman 03-25-2020 05:30 PM

So, ignorant me, would this gun likely take a 2 1/2 shell, low pressure?

Pete Lester 03-25-2020 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Endeman (Post 297522)
So, ignorant me, would this gun likely take a 2 1/2 shell, low pressure?

I strongly suspect your gun being a 12ga has 2 5/8" chambers. I don't believe anybody has ever hurt one firing 2 3/4" shells. I have a Trojan 12 from 1913 and shot 2 3/4" 1 1/4 ounce lead at 1330 fps at ducks for years when lead was legal. When the first bismuth loads came out all they had available was 1 3/8 ounce and I shot those. I experienced no problems. Trojans are stout guns. Now that I am older and wiser (mostly just older) I shoot "lighter" loads and found they work just fine. Make sure the screws that hold the stock to the receiver are tight, use proper screwdrivers and if you don't know what you are doing find a Smith that does. The wood is 100 years old and dry, treat it kindly with lower recoil loads to avoid cracking it. RST Shotshells makes ammo that is designed for vintage guns.

Dean Romig 03-25-2020 07:05 PM

I cut my pheasant hunting teeth on a 1914 Parker Trojan No. 167347 in 1960 - 1963 using off-the-shelf heavy duck and pheasant loads. I was 12 or 13 when I started shooting it and it clobbered me pretty hard and I didn’t like shooting it but it was “big medicine” on those big birds... and more effective than my single shot Stevens 20.





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Bruce Day 03-25-2020 10:06 PM

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140 years old and in frequent use for pheasant and prairie grouse.

Milton C Starr 03-25-2020 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Day (Post 297553)
140 years old and in frequent use for pheasant and prairie grouse.

There are people who still shoot muskets from the Revolutionary War , and Civil War muzzleloaders .

Harry Collins 03-26-2020 07:09 AM

1 Attachment(s)
I would be perfectly happy with just my Trojan 12 & 20. One of the things that brought a smile to my face is the checkering on you family Parker has been worn thin. Everyone on this form has heard the following too many times, but my father found a new Trojan 20 under the Christmas tree when he still believed in Santa. It's checkering pattern is visible though smooth to the touch. I picked up a 12 to give the 20 some company and have been shooting sporting clay and wobble trap all winter with it. Again when going over the metal with the Frontier pad and Hoppe's No.9. I would wipe the Hoppe's on and let it sit for a day. I wouldn't scrub the gun with the pad, but just lightly go over the metal. Here is a picture of the honest wear on Papa's Trojan 20.

Dean Romig 03-26-2020 07:20 AM

You can scrub rust spots and grunge with the Frontier pad with no damage to blueing or case color, but Harry’s suggestion of letting the Hoppe’s sit on those spots for a day or two is a good one.





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